Professional Services Marketing: Must-Know Trends For 2026

Marketing in professional services is rarely about flash — it’s about trust, timing, and relevance. But heading into 2026, the way firms earn that trust is changing fast. AI is moving out of the lab and into everyday workflows. Clients expect to engage on their terms, not yours. And the pressure to connect digital efforts with business results has never been higher.

Let’s break down four big marketing trends we’re seeing across legal, accounting, consulting and other professional services firms — and what you can do to stay ahead. Whether you’re experimenting with GenAI or building always-on content hubs, there’s a common thread: the firms seeing the most impact are scaling what their experts do best, not replacing them.

1. AI moves from experiments to embedded workflows

Generative AI is no longer a side project for a small group of innovators. It’s starting to sit in the middle of how professional services firms create content, run events and engage clients. 

The ON24 State of AI in B2B Marketing Report, based on a survey of more than 500 B2B marketers across industries, shows that AI is rapidly moving from experiment to everyday workflow. Some 87% of respondents were already using or testing AI in their marketing, with 84% saying they would implement more AI. 

Separate research finds marketers already spend about 20% of their budgets on martech and expect that to rise to approximately 31% over five years, yet only around 56% of tools are actively used — pointing to under-exploited potential for AI and automation to unlock value.

Barriers such as data privacy and confidentiality, customizability and ethical concerns have hindered the adoption of AI in the professional services industry. Nevertheless, according to a survey from Thomson Reuters, about two-fifths of professionals in legal, tax, accounting, corporate risk and fraud, and government now use generative AI tools in some fashion. Organizational adoption is also climbing fast, with the share of respondents saying their organization is actively using GenAI nearly doubled to 22% in 2025, up from 12% in 2024, while another 50% are either planning or deciding how to use it. 

However, the same study notes that most firms still haven’t bridged the gap between “we’re using AI somewhere” and “AI is helping us hit growth and efficiency goals.” Thomson Reuters finds that only 13% of respondents say GenAI is central to their workflow today, but 95% believe it will be central within five years — and more than half say their organization has no GenAI policy and most haven’t received any formal training.

Why this matters

The gap between current AI adoption and its potential is an opportunity for marketers to get ahead of the competition. Proven benefits of AI that exist today include:

• Scaling expert impact by turning thought leadership webinars into libraries of high-quality assets — transcripts, summaries, clips and articles — without adding headcount.
• Cutting out the manual work that slows down campaign execution and lead follow-up.
• Feeding richer engagement signals into scoring models so business development teams focus on the right accounts.

But to do that in a regulated, high-trust environment, AI programs need to sit on top of trusted first-party data and work inside defined processes, not outside them.

What you can do

 

Start with workflows, not tools	Map where your team spends the most time — e.g., turning webinar recordings into follow-up content, building landing pages, updating certification materials — and test AI in those high-friction areas first.
Use AI to scale expert content, not replace it	Tools like ON24 ACE can automatically generate transcripts, recaps and derivatives from your webinars and virtual events, so your subject matter experts become the source of truth for a whole campaign.
Set guardrails and measure results	Work with risk and compliance teams to agree on AI policies, and track AI’s impact on time-to-market, number of assets produced and engagement.

 

2. Human experts stay at the center of digital thought leadership

Even as AI adoption accelerates, professional services clients still pay for judgment, not just information. Digital channels are amplifying that reality instead of replacing it.

ON24’s professional services benchmarks show audiences aren’t just attending, they’re actively engaging. In 2024, the average professional services webinar generated 577 unique interactions, with 2.7 interactions per attendee vs. 1.7 across all industries, and emoji reactions per attendee rose 59% year over year.

Furthermore, in complex B2B and professional services buying cycles, good thought leadership is often the first and most persistent touchpoint. A survey from Edelman and LinkedIn finds that high-quality thought leadership prompts buyers to rethink their challenges, generates RFP invitations and shortlists and acts as a competitive advantage. 

So, while professionals are optimistic about AI, they still want clear and trusted human guidance on how to apply it — whether that’s in tax planning, M&A, disputes or regulatory compliance.

Why this matters

For marketing and business development, this creates both opportunity and risk. Firms that consistently put their best experts in front of clients through interactive digital experiences will build stronger, more durable relationships. But those firms that hide behind generic content — or purely AI-generated material — risk being commoditized, especially when competitors are one click away. 

The most successful ON24 professional services customers treat digital as a way to multiply expert reach, not replace it. For example, Protiviti uses digital certification programs and partner enablement events to connect subject matter experts with global audiences while capturing first-party data on interests and intent.

What you can do

Design “expert-first” digital series	Build recurring webinar and virtual event programs where partners, principals and senior managers discuss timely issues, backed by polls, Q&A and chat to keep sessions interactive. ON24’s benchmarks show that breakouts and live engagement features are increasingly used by professional services audiences.
Turn every expert appearance into a content engine	Use AI to turn a single expert-led webinar into follow-up blog posts, clips, checklists and email sequences — so your most trusted voices show up across the buyer journey, without constantly asking them for net-new content.
Align experts, marketers and business development	Use engagement data to brief partners and BD teams on who asked which questions, what they downloaded and how long they stayed, so outreach feels like a continuation of the conversation rather than a cold call.

3. Personalized, always-on experiences become the default

Professionals increasingly expect to discover and evaluate firms on their own schedule — but they don’t want to wade through generic content to do it.

Across B2B, McKinsey’s latest B2B Pulse survey shows that customers now use an average of ten interaction channels in their buying journey (up from five in 2016). At any given stage, roughly one-third prefer in-person interactions, one-third remote and one-third digital self-service — a “rule of thirds” that holds across sectors and deal sizes.

Professional services audiences clearly favor rich, personalized digital options within that mix. ON24’s benchmarks highlight that in 2024:

• On-demand webinar engagement rose 47%, underscoring the need for always-on access to high-value content.
• Visits to professional services content hubs increased 23%, with a 33% increase in average visits per hub and a 20% increase in video views.
• Attendance at personalized content experiences more than doubled (up 103%), with 2x more visitors, 4x growth in video views year over year and an 11x rise in resource downloads per visitor.
• Personalized pages achieved a 45% visitor-to-registrant conversion rate, compared to 36% on traditional pages, and clickthroughs on personalized pages rose 77%.

Why it matters

Firms often talk about “white-glove” or bespoke service once a client has signed — but digital experiences before and between meetings often feel one-size-fits-all. That disconnect shows up as:

• Low-quality leads from generic webinars and virtual events.
• Reduced engagement as prospects see yet another invitation that doesn’t feel relevant or personal.
• Manual work to piece together behavior across webinars, microsites, email and sales outreach.

The benchmark data suggests that professional services clients and prospects reward firms that do the opposite and give them curated experiences based on who they are, what they care about and where they are in a decision.

What you can do

 

Build content hubs around themes, not just formats	Instead of parking webinars, white papers and videos in separate silos, use content hubs to group assets by issue (for example, “cross-border tax for manufacturers” or “AI in investigations”), and surface related next steps like consultations or workshops.
Use first-party engagement data for simple, effective personalization	Start with straightforward rules. For example, if someone has watched multiple sessions on ESG reporting, show them ESG-specific case studies, invite them to ESG roundtables and route them to the right industry or practice team.
Connect personalization to real business outcomes	The same ON24 data that powers content recommendations can trigger tailored follow-up cadences, account-based marketing plays or partner co-marketing, helping you address pain points around manual lead hand-off and lack of insights.

 

4. Integrated engagement data connects marketing, business development and partners

The days of running webinars, virtual events and content hubs in isolation are numbered. As client expectations for hybrid and digital options keep rising, firms need a connected view of how prospects and clients engage across touchpoints.

Generally, B2B customers want a true omnichannel experience and are willing to switch providers if they don’t get it. Buyers now expect to move smoothly between in-person, remote and digital self-service channels, and more than half say they want a cohesive experience across them.

Professional services firms using ON24 are already showing what’s possible when data is integrated. 

• Across ON24 professional services customers, results include a 52% participation rate, 3x increase in attendance, 7x increase in prospects reached and the most profitable year ever for featured firms, driven by digital engagement programs.
• In the 2025 benchmarks, professional services webinars saw click-through rates on calls-to-action rise by 51%, and meeting bookings increase by 36%, indicating that audiences are ready to move from content consumption to one-to-one conversations when given the chance. 
• Customer stories like Shipman & Goodwin highlight how integrating ON24 with CRM platforms such as HubSpot can grow event attendee bases by 20% and increase lead generation by 30%, while giving BD teams instant access to actionable insights.

Why it matters

Many professional services marketers will wrestle with fragmented experiences and data spread across webinar tools, email platforms, websites and CRM. They may also struggle with manual reporting as well as multiple registrations and inconsistent experiences for clients and partners across events and programs. 

With budgets and headcount under pressure, 2026 will favor firms that treat webinars, content hubs, virtual conferences and certification programs as one integrated engagement fabric — with a single set of data, scoring and workflows behind it.

What you can do

 

Standardize on a primary engagement platform	Use a platform like ON24 to host webinars, virtual events, landing pages and content hubs so every click, question and meeting request is captured consistently.
Integrate engagement data into CRM and marketing automation	Connect ON24 to systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, Eloqua or Marketo so that registrations, attendance, poll responses and content consumption inform lead scores, opportunity creation and account plans — not just post-event spreadsheets.
Build shared dashboards across marketing, BD and partners	Track metrics like engagement per account, meeting bookings, certifications issued and content hub conversions by segment or practice area. Use these insights to prioritize account outreach, refine topics and decide where partner co-marketing or joint events make most sense.

Looking ahead to 2026

Taken together, these trends point in a clear direction: 2026 professional services marketing will be defined by trusted expertise delivered through intelligent, data-driven digital experiences.

To prepare, firms should:

• Use AI to scale expert content and campaigns, not replace human judgment
• Treat thought leadership and education as a strategic growth motion, rather than isolated activities.
• Build personalized, always-on content hubs around client problems to offer value and demonstrate expertise.
• Put experts at the heart of interactive digital programs to increase their exposure to clients.
• Connect engagement data across the full client lifecycle — from demand generation and partner enablement, to client retention and member enrollment

If you’re ready to see how ON24 can help your firm do this with one platform for webinars, virtual events, content hubs and AI-powered content, explore our professional services solutions.